BRST Cohomology is Lie Algebroid CohomologyIn this paper we demonstrate that the exterior algebra of an Atiyah Lie
algebroid generalizes the familiar notions of the physicist's BRST complex. To
reach this conclusion, we develop a general picture of Lie algebroid morphisms
as commutative diagrams between algebroids preserving the geometric structure
encoded in their brackets. We illustrate that a necessary and sufficient
condition for such a diagram to define a morphism is that the two algebroids
possess gauge-equivalent connections. This observation indicates that the set
of Lie algebroid morphisms should be regarded as equivalent to the set of local
diffeomorphisms and gauge transformations. Moreover, a Lie algebroid morphism
being a chain map in the exterior algebra sense ensures that morphic algebroids
are cohomologically equivalent. The Atiyah Lie algebroids derived from
principal bundles with common base manifolds and structure groups may therefore
be divided into equivalence classes of morphic algebroids. Each equivalence
class possesses a representative which we refer to as the trivialized Lie
algebroid, and we show that the exterior algebra of the trivialized algebroid
gives rise to the BRST complex. We conclude by illustrating the usefulness of
Lie algebroid cohomology in computing quantum anomalies. In particular, we pay
close attention to the fact that the geometric intuition afforded by the Lie
algebroid (which was absent in the naive BRST complex) provides hints of a
deeper picture that simultaneously geometrizes the consistent and covariant
forms of the anomaly. In the algebroid construction, the difference between the
consistent and covariant anomalies is simply a different choice of basis.
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